Police outline Drone First Responder plan and real-time center; council gives direction to proceed with outreach

Santa Maria police presented a Drone First Responder (DFR) concept and a real-time information center at the April 7 meeting, explaining how pre-stationed docking pods and integrated dispatch can place an aerial asset over emergencies within roughly 70 to 90 seconds.

Chief Williams and presenters described uses demonstrated in other California agencies: de-escalation and suspect location in armed-robbery calls, faster situational awareness for structure fires and AED delivery to cardiac emergencies, and search-and-rescue support. DFR systems include docking stations (pods) located at fire or police facilities or on vehicles; autonomous launch and return features were shown in vendor demonstrations and a transparency dashboard concept that allows the public to see flight data, call types and outcomes.

The department emphasized policy limits: DFR would not be used for random surveillance or routine patrols but would be launched to calls that meet specific criteria; staff said the program reduces officer risk, frees patrol resources, and provides critical intelligence to multilple agencies. Councilmembers asked about data ownership, vendor relationships with third parties and federal agencies, and whether vendors had data-sharing arrangements; staff said the city would retain ownership of captured video and would require contractual restrictions on third-party sharing.

Glenn Morris, chair of the Santa Maria Police Council, reported the Police Council is prepared to raise funds and recommended up to $150,000 per year for the first three years to support the program; council directed staff to continue outreach and procurement planning and to return with a recommended pilot structure, policy and budget.

The council emphasized the need for transparency and public education as the department advances the proposal.